Sonic Sorcery
by bethanyyerinn
Summary: The Tenth Doctor and Martha go to Camelot and quickly meet Merlin. It's just a social visit, at first, until the power of the sonic screwdriver is mistaken for sorcery and Martha is sentenced to execution. Together, Merlin, Gaius, and The Doctor must save her before it's too late.
1. Arthur, Spoiled Prince

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**This is the Tenth Doctor, if you can't tell from the fact that he's with Martha. **

**Oh, and this fic is supposed to be shipless, but I am a hardcore Merthur shipper, so if it's totally obvious, I apologise. **

* * *

The Doctor and Martha ran into the TARDIS, breathing heavily. The Doctor was, as usual, smiling like a madman in the face of near-death. In fact, he was starting to laugh. And maybe Martha, in the beginning, would tell him that it isn't at all funny to almost be killed by aliens, but after travelling with The Doctor for a while, almost everything in life is funny, so watching him laugh made her begin to laugh as well.

But that was when there was pounding on the door and Martha wasn't smiling anymore.

"Sontarans. So touchy when you get in the way of their wars," The Doctor muttered.

"Yes, touchy," Martha said, "As in they're going to break in and kill us, Doctor. I think we'd better go."

"Silly Martha," The Doctor crooned, "The hordes of Genghis Kahn couldn't get through the doors, let alone a few Sontarans."

"A _few_? Doctor, it's an entire _army_!"

He pursed his lips, as if in consideration. "Well, maybe it wouldn't be a terrible idea to get going then," he decided.

"Yes, thank you, so let's go!"

"Where to?" he asked, walking at a leisurly pace over to the controls.

There was more pounding, loud and hollow. "I think they've got a battering ram," she said.

"How quaint," The Doctor replied with a grin. "Now where to?"

"God, I dunno, pick somewhere!" she said desperately.

"You pick."

More banging, and she could have sworn she heard the cracking of wood. In her desperation, she yelled out random numbers. "England, 495!"

He gave her another grin. "Good choice!"

Thankfully, the TARDIS started to wail and off they went into the past. Martha took a deep breath. "Why's it a good choice? What happens in 495?"

"Nothing in particular," he said, "but that's around the time Arthur is alive."

"Arthur? _King_ Arthur?"

"Well," The Doctor said, counting on his fingers, "in 495 he's not quite king yet. He's the prince. His father Uther'd still be king in 495. But yes, it's the same one."

"We're going to meet King Arthur?" she asked with a smile.

"_Prince_ Arthur," he corrected.

"Oh, whatever," she replied. "It's still cool. We're going to Camelot!"

"Indeed we are!" The Doctor exclaimed.

* * *

After a minute, the TARDIS touched down. Martha smiled to The Doctor and together they peeked out the door. They had landed in the middle of what seemed to be a forest, but in the distance they could see a glorious sight: Camelot. Mostly, they could see the castle, which was, to say the least, enormous.

They started to walk, going into the gates of the city and looking at all the people. "So how do we meet Arthur? He must be hard to find," Martha asked after a while.

"Normally, I would agree with you, except he's coming this way."

Martha turned where The Doctor was looking to see a procession of knights with red capes and chainmail galloping through the city on horseback. She swallowed as she looked at Arthur, who must have been the blonde one in the front.

"My god, he's hot!" she whispered.

"I suppose he _is_ rather pretty," The Doctor agreed.

That was when Martha realized they were all in the attire of a knight except for one. "Who's the dark haired boy with him? He's not a knight."

"No he isn't," The Doctor replied. "Must be a servant."

Just then, the boy with the dark hair looked over to them, and he looked at them curiously. She looked down at her clothes. She knew she and The Doctor never changed into something time-appropriate, and most people didn't notice, but this boy did.

"Merlin!" the blonde man that had to have been Arthur hollered. "What are you daydreaming about? I'm talking to you!" The boy with the dark hair shook his head, looking to Arthur.

"Yes, sire, sorry sire."

Martha blinked. "Merlin. _The_ Merlin. Like the wizard," she said incredulously.

"It seems so," The Doctor mused. "I didn't know Arthur knew him so early in life. In fact, I didn't know he was actually real. Kind of thought he was a myth."

"But he's a servant."

"Maybe the name was used in the myths, but he's not actually a wizard," The Doctor said.

"Plus, I thought he'd be an old man." She privately thought that Merlin was attractive too.

"Well I don't imagine he's always been an old man!" The Doctor said. "Had to have been young sometime."

She rolled her eyes. "I meant I thought he was a lot older than Arthur."

"Again, the myths might not be true," The Doctor said. He was quiet for a moment. "But then again…" he murmured, following the knights. She ran after him.

"What?"

"Listen to what they're saying."

They had stopped riding now and were getting off their horses. Arthur was speaking. "The sorcerer may have gotten away this time, but he will not get away again, whoever it is."

"By now he has sought refuge with the druids, my lord," said one of the other knights. "We've tried and failed to find them enough times."

Arthur's eyes narrowed and the knight stood up a little straighter. "You do not have faith in my ability to lead you?" Arthur demanded.

"No, of course I do, sire," the knight said hurriedly.

"Then we will leave at dawn tomorrow."

Martha stared at Arthur, feeling intimidated by him even from thirty feet away, hiding behind a fruit stand. She wasn't sure whether he was just mean, or if his aura of power made him frightening. Maybe it was both.

She looked around the group, wondering where the boy had gone. Merlin, the servant. She found him and took in a sudden breath. He was still staring at them.

"Merlin's suspicious of us," Martha said.

"I imagine so, seeing as he's a sorcerer," The Doctor said casually.

"I thought you said the myths might not be true."

"Changed my mind," The Doctor said vaguely. "He can probably sense something off about us. If we are to believe the myths, Merlin would do anything to protect Arthur. He must watch out for oddities, such as ourselves."

"So you're saying he really is one of the greatest wizards of all time."

"Don't think he would call himself a wizard, but yes."

"Then maybe we should go."

"You don't want to talk to Arthur?"

"He seems a little mean, actually." _And with Merlin the powerful warlock watching them_… she added in her head.

"Of course he seems mean, he's a spoiled prince," The Doctor said. "But don't you want to talk to him just to say you've done it?"

She smiled. "I suppose that'd be nice. But how will we get an audience with him?"

"Merlin!" shouted Arthur again, even though Merlin was standing only a few feet away.

Merlin didn't break eye contact with Martha as he said, "Yes, sire?"

"Make sure the horses are watered and fed."

"It's what I live for, sire. At least the horses are intelligent company," Merlin replied dryly, which made Arthur glare at him and take a deep breath. A few of the knights looked like they were trying hard to stifle a laugh. She had a feeling he sassed off to Arthur like this often and smiled too, deciding maybe she'd like him after all. As long as he didn't try to kill them. But really, he mostly looked curious about them for the time being, so maybe she was just being paranoid.

"Then maybe," Arthur said with a dangerous glint in his eye, "if you like horses so much, you should muck out the stables as well."

Merlin looked exasperated, seeming to realise his sass had backfired. "Right, sire." Arthur and his knights started to go inside, but Merlin didn't move.

"Merrrrrrlin!" Arthur belted. "Get a move on! I want you done by sundown to bring me supper!"

Merlin rolled his eyes and started to walk and Arthur entered the castle. The second he did, Merlin changed course, coming right towards Martha and The Doctor.

"Um, Doctor," Martha said. "He's coming over here."

"I see that."

"What should we do?"

The Doctor thought for a moment. "Have a little chat," he replied.


	2. Gaius, Former Companion

The Doctor jumped up from behind the fruit stand, his ecstatic, slightly mad grin on his face. Merlin looked a little confused by this, but kept coming forward.

"Merlin!" The Doctor said, reaching out a hand to shake.

"Do I know you?" asked Merlin.

"Doctor," Martha warned as she approached them. Merlin looked her up and down with an eyebrow up, obviously confused by her attire.

"No, you don't, but I know you. A great sorcerer!"

Merlin's facial expression smoothed out so Martha had no idea what he was thinking. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't? What, are you ashamed?" The Doctor asked.

Merlin blinked up at him. "I can assure you, I am no sorcerer, but if I was, I would indeed be ashamed," he said.

"Why?"

Merlin's face fell back into confusion. "Have you never been to Camelot?" he asked.

"We're not from around here," The Doctor said, avoiding the question, as he often did when asked something.

"Oh," he murmured. "Well, King Uther banned the use magic more than twenty years ago, on pain of death. You will find no sorcerers in Camelot. I thought even the other kingdoms knew that."

"We're from _really_ far away," The Doctor said.

"Right…" Merlin said. "But how did you know my name?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I travel through time and space and more than a thousand years from now you and Arthur are legends?"

Merlin blinked again. "No, I don't think I'd believe you," he said dryly.

"No, I probably wouldn't either," The Doctor agreed. "I'm The Doctor. I'm looking for the court physician. Do you know where I could find him?"

"Depends. What do you want to see him for?"

"My friend," The Doctor said morosely, grabbing for Martha. "She's grievously sick."

Martha looked up at him for a second in irritation, but then began to pretend to be ill. Merlin didn't look like he believed it.

Then, Martha heard the tell-tale signs of The Doctor's sonic screwdriver being used, and suddenly she really did feel ill, and then she vomited. How a screwdriver, even a sonic one, could make someone throw up, she didn't know, but she was about ready to kill The Doctor for this one.

"Please," The Doctor said.

Merlin looked at them for a few more seconds, but then suddenly looked sympathetic. "It just so happens I live with Gaius," Merlin said. "I can take you to him."

"Gaius?" The Doctor asked with a smile. "Gaius is the court physician?"

"Do you know Gaius?" Merlin asked.

The Doctor grinned. "Yes, actually, I do. From long ago."

Merlin nodded and began to walk them into the castle. Martha reached into The Doctor's pocket and pulled the screwdriver out when he wasn't paying attention, irritated that he had used it to make her sick. He didn't notice. She'd give it back in a bit, she decided.

"Why the court physician?" Martha hissed.

"Because I figured it was the only way we would get into the castle," The Doctor said, "but now I've just gotten lucky with the physician being Gaius!"

"You really know this man Gaius?"

"Yes," The Doctor replied. "He was training to be a physician at the time. I figure it must be the same Gaius."

"You've been to Camelot before?"

"Yes, but it was probably forty years ago to Gaius," The Doctor said. "Magic wasn't outlawed at the time. In fact, Gaius dabbled in magic himself. And he certainly wasn't court physician to the king!" he added, pride in his voice.

"How did you meet him?"

"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and became my companion for a few days. It was a Weeping Angel."

Then Merlin led them through a door and there was an elderly man sitting at a table. Was this Gaius? Martha imagined meeting The Doctor and not seeing him again until she was seventy years old. For The Doctor being such a good man, he was a little heartless sometimes.

"Gaius," Merlin said, "this girl is sick."

Gaius looked up nonchalantly, but then he shot up out of his seat, letting his chair fall back with a hollow _bang_. "Doctor," Gaius said in awe.

The Doctor grinned. "Hello, Gaius. You've gotten far since I saw you last! Court physician!"

"You… you haven't changed at all," Gaius said carefully, glancing to Merlin.

"You knew I wouldn't."

"I suppose I didn't really believe it until now. What are you doing here?" asked Gaius.

"The girl is sick," Merlin repeated.

"Oh, I doubt that," Gaius said with a smile. "He wouldn't have come here to make her better. Is there something here?" Even this man Gaius knew that the appearance The Doctor usually meant trouble.

"No, Martha here just wanted to meet Arthur."

"Wanted to _meet_ him?" asked Gaius.

"Yes. He becomes quite famous a few hundred years from now."

Martha found herself looking to Merlin, who was looking between the two men with wide eyes.

"Wait a moment," Merlin said. "When you asked if I would believe you if you told me you were a time traveler… you were serious?"

Gaius looked over to Merlin. "Yes, he was serious," he said.

"So you're from the future."

"You could say that," The Doctor said. "I'm a bit outside of time, but Martha here is from right around this area, just a millennium and a half later."

Merlin's eyes widened. "No wonder your clothes are so odd," Merlin said, amazed. "And I thought I'd seen it all."

"No, probably not," The Doctor replied. "If I'm being honest, Merlin is pretty famous too, in the future."

"I am?" Merlin gaped.

"Yes," The Doctor said. "The greatest magician ever to live, I think."

"Oh, don't go making his head all big," Gaius said with a smile.

"Is that how you knew I was a sorcerer?" Merlin inquired. The Doctor nodded. "Wow…"

Martha smiled at Merlin. He seemed like a sweet boy. While The Doctor and Gaius chatted like old men remembering 'the good ol' days', Martha and Merlin stood on the side.

"So you work for Arthur, but he doesn't know you have magic?"

Merlin shook his head. "Nobody does, except for Gaius. It's nice to be able to talk about it with someone my age."

Martha smiled. "I imagine it would be. Arthur seems like a bit of a prat though."

Merlin smiled. "He is," Merlin said, "I know that better than anyone. But I also know better than anyone that he's one of the greatest men I've ever known. He will be a very good king. And he is my friend… even if he is a clotpole."

There was such reverence in Merlin's voice that Martha had a sudden feeling that Merlin and Arthur might have been more than friends. She banished the idea though. It was too weird to consider that the Arthur and Merlin from legend were actually gay or something. Plus, did gay even exist in medieval times?

"Clotpole," she said instead, smiling. "I've never heard that insult before. It's a good one."

Merlin grinned, a goofy, wonderful smile, better than any she had ever seen before. "What kind of insults are there in the future?"

"Hm…" she mused. "Dick, probably. I'd call him a dick."

They talked about silly things like that for a long time. Merlin even was able to get her some clothes that fit the time period, which she was grateful for. Eventually, however, Merlin had to go, for Arthur could be heard beckoning for him across the castle.


	3. Martha, Master Sorceress

They sat and chatted with Gaius for a long while, Martha mostly looking around the room at all of Gaius' things while the men talked.

Just then, Martha heard a noise outside the door. Nobody was paying attention to her, and The Doctor was catching up with Gaius, so she walked out of the room silently. At the end of the hall was a very beautiful woman with pale skin and dark, curly hair. She must have been royalty, for her clothes were fine. At that moment, she looked extremely suspicious, with her hood up and gazing around like she didn't want anyone to notice her. Martha had been around The Doctor enough to know what someone who was up to no good looked like, and this woman looked this way. She followed the woman and, after a while, she took out the screwdriver, which she still had on her, and tried to detect alien tech on her.

"Sorcery!" Someone yelled. She looked behind her in surprise to see guards running towards her. "Hey, you!" he yelled. She looked around, not knowing where to go or what to do. She had walked far enough that she wasn't sure where the room The Doctor was in even was from there.

"Lady Morgana, are you alright?" asked one of the guards.

"Of course," the beautiful woman said quickly, obviously looking like she was in some type of hurry to get somewhere.

"This woman was following you!"

She looked surprised. "Oh, well I'm just fine." She walked away quickly.

The guard took the sonic screwdriver from Martha's hand. "An instrument for sorcery," said the guard. "Let us take her to the king."

"Doctor!" she yelled as the guards took her away. But instead of seeing the Doctor, she saw Merlin at the end of the hall, looking at her in shock. She somehow felt she trusted him, even though she hardly knew him, and decided that if The Doctor wasn't there, Merlin was a good second choice. Before he had a chance to do much more than stare, however, she was gone.

* * *

The Doctor was having a grand old time listening to Gaius' stories, until he realised how quiet Martha was being. He looked around, then shot up out of his seat.

"Where's Martha?" asked The Doctor.

Just then, Merlin came bounding back into the room. "Doctor," he said. "I saw Martha walking through the halls. She was following Morgana and then the guards took her away, saying something about sorcery."

"What?" The Doctor bellowed. Merlin jumped at his sudden anger.

"I couldn't do anything," Merlin said. "But we'll save her." The Doctor was surprised by the passion in Merlin's voice, seeing as Merlin didn't know Martha well and didn't need to be concerned about her.

The Doctor nodded.

Just then, a guard came to Gaius' door. "Your presence is requested. A sorcerer has been found."

Gaius and The Doctor met eyes. This couldn't be good.

* * *

The Doctor managed to follow Merlin and Gaius into the hall without being noticed and there was Martha, on her knees in front of the throne. God, how had he not noticed her leaving? She turned and saw him, looking to him desperately. His mind worked a million miles a minute. She would be locked in a dungeon. Once she was, he'd use his screwdriver to get her out and they'd just have to sneak out of Camelot unnoticed. Easy.

That was when he paid attention to the king.

"And this instrument of sorcery is yours?" he demanded, The Doctor's screwdriver in his hand. How had Martha gotten hold of that? He cursed silently, not sure what to do. The King handed the instrument off to his son.

"I'm guessing you need that," Merlin breathed in The Doctor's ear.

"Yes," he replied.

"I can help you get it back," Merlin said.

"It's not for sorcery, your majesty," Martha said. "Or, at least, I don't think so. I found it on the ground; I was only testing it out. I apologize, my liege. I had no idea what it was." The Doctor thought that Martha was holding up well, but he had little hope from what Gaius had told him about Uther.

"You have no proof of that. She must be a sorcerer."

"Father," The Doctor was surprised to hear Arthur object. "You don't know that. There isn't proof it's hers either."

"Why are you defending this girl?"

"I'm only saying there isn't much evidence," Arthur said.

Uther ignored his son. "By the laws of this land, I have no choice but to sentence you to death," Uther said, and the guards started to drag her away.

Arthur approached Merlin, glancing at The Doctor for only a moment.

"Arthur, that girl is no sorcerer," Merlin said. "I've met her before, she is a nice girl."

"There's nothing I can do," Arthur said bitterly. "Uther has passed judgment."

Merlin nodded solemnly, acting as if he only cared a little. "What are you going to do with that?" he asked, gesturing to the screwdriver.

"It's going into the vaults," Arthur said.

"Are you even sure it's for magic?" Merlin asked.

"It's certainly odd," Arthur said. "But no, I don't know."

"It doesn't look like it's for magic," Merlin said.

Arthur looked at Merlin incredulously. "What, and you know a lot about magic, do you?" He rolled his eyes. "I need my armour polished," he added, striding away.

"We'll have to break into the vaults tonight," Merlin said quickly to The Doctor. "After I'm done with my chores, I will meet you in Gaius' chambers."

"Merrrrrliiiiin!"

"Got to go," he added, jogging away.

The Doctor looked over to Gaius. "You think Merlin can get in?" he asked.

"Oh, I know he can. He's very powerful. And he works on wood," he added with a smile.

The Doctor pursed his lips. "Well, then maybe I should replace my screwdriver with Merlin."

"I just meant that for tonight, he'll be a good alternative."

The Doctor nodded. "Let's hope so."

* * *

**Hey there, readers! Hope you're enjoying it so far. If so, or if you hate it, of if you'd really like some pizza right now, or anything at all, I would reallllllllly appreciate it if you let me know in a review! Thanks!**


	4. Merlin, Sonic Screwdriver Replacement

Merlin was starting to think that he was bad luck. He'd considered it for a long time, actually, but he was really getting the feeling that it was true. Everyone he ever cared about, he somehow lost. It always happened. He had hardly known Martha, but somehow she had reminded him of Freya. Not that she looked at all like Freya, but Martha was someone he could be honest with, someone who was nice, but also had a vague feeling of danger right underneath the surface. He had liked Martha, and now she was being sentenced to death. Most of his friends got sentenced to death, it seemed, and he'd hardly known Martha for more than an hour. He really needed to refrain from making friends, he was starting to think.

He was pretty distracted the rest of the evening. He knew he had time to save her, because she would not be executed until after a proper trial, but still he was worried about her. And he knew it was his responsibility to save her. Right before she'd been taken by the guards, she had met eyes with him, pleading him to save her. Maybe if The Doctor had been there in that moment, that look would have been for him, but still she trusted him enough to believe that Merlin could save her, he could tell that much. And because of that trust, he would not allow himself to fail. He had failed too many times.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled. Merlin shook his head and looked to Arthur, who was staring at him expectantly. "Are you going to bring that over?" Merlin blinked and looked into his arms, where he held Arthur's dinner. He had forgotten about that. How long had he been standing there? Long enough for Arthur to be annoyed, but Arthur became annoyed very quickly.

Merlin came over and set down the plate.

"What is with you right now, Merlin?" Arthur demanded.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Even I can admit that you aren't usually _this_ stupid."

"I apologise, sire," Merlin muttered, not sure what else he was supposed to say.

Arthur shook his head. "Fine, you're dismissed."

Merlin looked up in surprise. "I am?"

"Obviously, something is wrong. Figure it out tonight and stop acting funny by tomorrow. Understood?"

Merlin smiled at him. "Yes, sire. See you tomorrow morning."

He half ran across the castle to Gaius' chambers.

"Ready?" The Doctor said the moment the door opened.

"Yes. We'll just have to get down to the vaults without anyone noticing."

"Don't worry, I'm a master of disguise!" The Doctor said. "Nobody'll notice us."

"A master of disguise? In those clothes?"

"Hey," The Doctor warned, "I'm not changing."

"Fine," Merlin said, "but don't blame me if it calls attention to us."

* * *

The Doctor was surprised by Merlin, to say the least. He might have—not that he would ever admit it out loud—have been more efficient than his sonic. Well, Merlin was rather large, however, and didn't quite fit in The Doctor's pocket, but other than that, quite useful indeed. Every time people were starting to walk by, Merlin would make a sound or distraction in the other direction and he and The Doctor managed to walk right by. He also didn't seem partial to killing people like so many other humans were, which The Doctor also appreciated.

Everything was going so well. They were almost to the vaults.

And then The Doctor realised why Merlin wasn't actually better than a screwdriver. His downside: he was rather clumsy.

And so he tripped. Into a suit of armour. The Doctor could hear guards yelling to each other, and then loud bells rang through the castle. Merlin looked up guiltily, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Oh, it's alright," the Doctor said. "It's no fun without some urgency! But what if you get caught? You live here."

"I have a backup plan for that," Merlin said.

"Do you?"

Merlin nodded, and then took a concoction out of his pocket, a blue powder.

"What's that?" The Doctor inquired.

Instead of answering, he muttered some words in an ancient tongue and his eyes glowed bright yellow… and then he started to change. His hair grew, and he grew a beard…

And suddenly, he was an old man. The Doctor nodded approvingly. "Nicely done. You're a little closer to my age now."

"Yeah right. You're what, forty? Maybe younger."

"I'm 903, actually."

Merlin stared blankly. "What?"

"Come on, we need to go!"

They started to run down into the vaults.

"Nine HUNDRED and three?"

"Yes," The Doctor replied.

"Wow. You aged well."

"Can't say the same for you."

Merlin rolled his eyes and they continued to run.

* * *

They were able to get into the vaults without having to seriously injure any knights. Then they looked through everything, looking for the screwdriver. On their way, The Doctor saw more than ten alien artifacts, things that were labeled as relics from the kings of old and from the Old Religion.

And then, in the back…

"What the?" the Doctor asked aloud.

"What is it?" elderly Merlin asked grumpily.

"That's my TARDIS!" He ran to the back of the room. "What's the TARDIS doing in here?"

"What's that?" Merlin asked.

"My ticket out of here!" he replied. "They must have found it and brought it down here sometime today. This is going to be easier than I thought. I just have to get in here and appear down in the cells—"

"You're under arrest, by order of the King!" hollered a knight, taking him from behind.

"Or not," The Doctor muttered.


	5. The Doctor, Master of Escapes

Merlin and The Doctor were being dragged up to be sentenced to death—or, to get a totally fair trial, of course—by King Uther.

"You!" yelled Uther to Merlin. Apparently he had seen elderly Merlin before. "Take him down now! Execution in the morning! And his accomplice too!"

The King was so angry they didn't even get a moment to explain.

The Doctor was thrown in a cell next to Martha.

"Nice to see you again, Doctor," she said dryly.

"Don't wander off! It's the first rule, Martha," The Doctor chided.

"Well it doesn't matter now. You're here to save me!"

"I don't have the screwdriver, Martha. I don't know how to get us out of this."

Martha's eyes widened. "Oh no. This is all my fault!" she moaned. "I'm so sorry. What are we going to do?"

"Probably die horrible, violent deaths," The Doctor said, crossing his arms and looking down at her through the bars. She sat down on the mattress on the ground in dismay.

Then he grinned. "Just kidding," he said, pulling the screwdriver out of his pocket. "Just thought I might scare you out of wandering off again."

"I hate you," Martha said.

"No you don't. Now let's get out of Camelot!"

He used the screwdriver to unlock their cells, then found Merlin's.

"Who's this?" Martha asked.

"Merlin."

Her jaw dropped. "You got older since last I saw you."

He shrugged. "Needed a disguise."

"So you just need to change back into young you now?" The Doctor asked as he unlocked the cell.

"I need to help you get to your box first."

"You don't need to do that," The Doctor said. "I've gotten you into enough trouble as it is."

"I don't mind," he said. "I want to help."

The Doctor smiled his crazy smile. "Well then, we better go!"

* * *

They were able to use the screwdriver to knock out the knights before they rang the warning bell. Merlin was amazed by the thing and wondered what it was if it wasn't sorcery.

They found the blue box without getting caught. "Come on in," the Doctor said as he opened the door to his box.

"Me?"

"Sure. I just need you to take you to your room and then I'll let you off. You can't get caught as an old man again."

Merlin nodded and went through the door. And then stopped dead.

"Bigger on the inside, I'm aware," The Doctor said, going to the middle of the ship, fiddling with machinery Merlin couldn't begin to understand. Merlin took his anti-aging potion and became young again, Martha's eyes widening, but her staying silent. She seemed used to odd things like this.

"Thanks for helping to save me," Martha said to Merlin a few minutes later.

He smiled. "No problem."

"But really, you could have gotten killed. Why risk it?"

"You're worth it," he replied. She smiled back, looking at the ground.

Merlin tried not to ask questions as the machine wailed and he felt as if it was moving. Then, a few seconds later, The Doctor said, "We're here."

Merlin looked confused and Martha opened the door. They were in Merlin's bedroom. "Wow," he muttered.

"Yes, the TARDIS is pretty wow," Martha replied.

"Well, it was… good to meet you, doctor," Merlin said.

The Doctor smiled. "You too. Maybe I'll meet you again."

Merlin looked to Martha. "It was great to meet you, Martha."

She smiled. "You too, Merlin."

Then he lurched forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye," he breathed. Then he got off the TARDIS and she shut the door.

"You never got to talk to Prince Arthur," The Doctor mused.

She shook her head. "No, I guess not. But it seems Merlin was more worth my time."

The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe."

And then they were gone, ready for their next adventure.

* * *

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